Trust Accounts Act 1973

A trustee shall not draw against or cause any payment to be made from a trust account kept by the trustee under this Act unless the drawing or payment is made by the trustee’s cheque or by a cheque drawn on or that permits or enables payment to be made by a financial institution, crossed and marked on its face ‘not negotiable’ and payable to order.Maximum penalty—10 penalty units.

Cheques drawn on a trustee’s trust account shall be drawn on cheque forms having pre-printed on the face thereof a direction to pay to order, a crossing ‘not negotiable’ and the words ‘Trust Account’.

Within 14 days of demand in writing made by the person for whom or on whose behalf trust moneys have been received or are held by a trustee and to which the person is then entitled the trustee shall pay to the person entitled thereto the balance of the moneys to which that person is entitled or as that person may direct in writing unless the trustee has already disposed of the moneys in accordance with a requirement made under section 33 in which case the trustee shall notify the person entitled to the moneys of that fact giving full particulars thereof.Maximum penalty—10 penalty units.

Where, before the making of a payment pursuant to subsection (3), a trustee has received notice in writing from any person who was a party to the business, proceeding or transaction in respect of which the moneys were received that the ownership of the moneys is in dispute, the trustee shall not without the written consent of the parties make payment of any such moneys until such time as—

all parties to the business, proceeding or transaction notify the trustee in writing that the dispute has been resolved and inform the trustee as to the person to whom the moneys are to be paid, whereupon the trustee shall forthwith pay the moneys to that person or as that person may direct in writing; or

the trustee is advised that legal proceedings have been commenced to determine the ownership of the moneys whereupon the trustee shall forthwith pay the moneys into the court in which the proceedings have been taken to abide the decision of the court; or

where no notice or advice is received by the trustee pursuant to paragraph (a) or (b) within a period of 60 days after the receipt of the notice firstmentioned in this subsection, the said period expires.

This section does not prevent a financial institution causing a payment to be made from a trustee’s trust account kept at a financial institution by electronic funds transfer.

However, the financial institution must ensure it keeps accurate records of each transfer and the purpose of the transfer.

Subsection (5) applies only if the trustee has the written approval of the supervising entity to make electronic funds transfers from the trust account.